Blood
by Titan16
Summary: A series of depressing drabbles and songfics centered around Alex.
1. Screaming

**Disclaimer- Still not mine.**

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><p>Alex rider was screaming.<p>

_Help_

Tom laughed and looked around the classroom. A new, outrageous rumor about Alex working at a strip club, or something of the kind, had just come out.

_"Can you believe that?"_ he seemed to be thinking.

He looked at Alex, and the grin slid off his face.

"Are you okay?" He asked, concern colouring his voice.

Alex looked him in the eyes and calmly replied,

"It's nothing."

_Its killing me_

Sabina slurped coffee and laughed and flirted and joked. Apparently, the nine year old she was babysitting was in love with her, and followed her around like a lost puppy.

"Enough on me," she said, not quite grinning, "what's wrong with you?"

Looking at her almost-smile, he replied,

"Nothing."

_**I'm**__ killing me_

Jack rushed around the kitchen, trying to remain under her ten minute limit. She and everything around her was coated in cooking ingredients.

She looked up and smiled. "What's up?" she asked him.

He looked at her and replied,

"Nothing."

**_Please _**

James Hale was in hysterics over some chick flick they had both been forced to see after a bet gone wrong.

"It was so unrealistic," he said. "So unreal."

Grinning, he asked Alex what he thought.

Alex barely glanced at him and replied,

"Nothing."

_Before it's too late_

The dead eyes of Mr. Blunt looked at him. He saw, Alex thought. He knew. Mrs. Jones leaned across the desk, popping a peppermint in her mouth. "Before we get started," she said, "is there anything wrong?"

"No," he replied. "Nothing"

_You were too late_

Alex rider looked at the gun in his hands, and closed his eyes.

_I'm sorry._

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><p><strong>Okay, this one was inspired by <span>13 reasons why<span>, which is an amazing novel. Anyway, sorry about the last chapter, I forgot to mention it was in Toms POV. Reviews appreciated.**

**Congrats to_ Mazken, _who guessed correctly. I'd also like to thank him/her and everybody else for reviewing.**


	2. Don't take the girl

**Disclaimer- Do I seem like AH?**

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><p>"No, Ian!" pleaded an eight year old Alex, looking at the dark haired child in front of them. "I'll do anything! Take Johnny or Mark or James; it's up to you, just <em>don't take the girl!"<em>

Ian simply sighed at his nephew's immaturity.

"Alex," he murmured, "one day you'll wish a pretty girl will be able to go with you."

Alex's eyes grew wide at the mere thought. "Never!" he gasped.

Ian just chuckled.

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><p>Alex gripped Sabina tightly and kissed her. She gasped, partly because he'd never kissed her before now, but mostly because it was just as Jack took the picture.<p>

Jack looked at the camera, then at the grinning Alex holding a flushed Sabina and walked inside, leaving them alone, without another word.

"You idiot," hummed Sabina.

"Oh, yes, _I'm_ the idiot," Alex murmured dryly.

_Click_.

The cocking of a gun was unmistakable.

"Alex Rider," said a masculine voice. "You've wronged one too many of my friends." He pressed the gun to Sabina's head.

"Now, say goodbye to your girlfriend."

"No!" cried Alex desperately. "Please, I'll do anything! Take me, to kill or torture, it's up to you, just _don't take the girl!" _

The man looked up and stared at Alex, long and hard. Finally, he said, "As you wish, Mr. Rider."

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><p>There was a rapidly fading beeping coming from the monitor. <em>No,<em> thought Alex, _not now! Not after everything we've been through!_ "I'm going to have to ask you to leave, Sir," said the doctor. "Your daughter will be fine, but her mother's fading fast, and-"

And Alex hit his knees, for the first time in his life, praying.

_Please, I'll do anything, _

_Take everything you've given me,_

_Take my luck,_

_Take my pride,_

_Take anything you want,_

_I'll gladly take her place if you let me,_

_But please, just don't take the girl._

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><p><strong>Okay, I've been inspired by songs recently. I tried to incorperate lyrics, but failed miserably, so you got this. I'm not sure about it, but whatever. Please review!<strong>

_**Mazken- Y**_**our review actullay made me choke up a little. Thanks so much!**

_**Hollyblue2- T**_**hanks for reviewing, it totally made my day!**


	3. Rythem of love

**Disclaimer- Not mine.**

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><p><em>My head is stuck in the clouds,<em>

_She begs me to come down,_

"Alex, you're in a dark place again," Sabina said softly.

"Sorry," he whispered, his dark brown eyes haunted.

She looked at him.

"Don't be," she said firmly.

_We may only have tonight,_

_But till the morning sun, you're mine,_

They were in a cage. Their captor had left them and would return to execute them in the morning, which was only a couple of hours away.

MI6 had been called days ago, of course, but they both knew all too well how reliable its back up was. "Sab, I'm-"

This time, she cut him off. "Will you stop apologizing! I know we may only have two hours, at the most, left ," she snapped, eyes flashing, "but at least we have that much."

_My heart beats like a drum,_

_A guitar string to the strum._

Alex's heart pounded. Sabina's life was being threatened because of him.

Again.

As he pressed her behind him, away from the madman with the gun, he wondered when she'd finally see it was best to leave him, like Jack had.

It was all over, and, just like usual, madman number whatever was locked away, and Alex was in the hospital. But this time, he was visiting.

"I'm so, so sorry. This is all my fault," he whispered dejectedly.

She looked him in the eyes.

"What did I tell you about apologizing?" she managed.

_She's got blue eyes deep like the sea_

_That roll back when she's laughing at me._

_She rises up like the tide_

_The moment her lips meet mine._

They were in a small German shop, laughing and smiling.

Alex was the happiest he'd been in months, and couldn't help noticing how sweet her laugh was, the amazing blue of her eyes.

_They really are an amazing color,_ he thought. He hadn't noticed he'd been leaning closer, or that Sabina had just stopped laughing.

He only noticed when his lips touched hers for one moment, and that she was now kissing him back eagerly.

_When the moon is low,_

_We can dance in slow motion._

When she saw him, she felt her throat close up.

She had heard of course, but hearing that your fiancé had severe PTSD was one thing. Seeing it yourself was a whole different matter.

"Alex?" she called hesitantly, coming closer. When he didn't even respond, just stayed huddled in the corner of their room, shaking, almost sobbing, her heart broke.

Alex was the strongest, most amazingly brave person she knew. To see him like this...

She took her time going to him, making every movement obvious and non-threatening, until she had her arms wrapped around him. He leaned against her, needing to be stable, grounded.

Safe.

After what seemed like several hours, just sitting there in silence, soft, gentle music from across the neighborhood could be heard. Wordlessly, Sabina went to get up and ask them to turn it down—please- when Alex grabbed her wrist, pulling himself up.

"May I have this dance, Mrs. Pleasure?" he asked, almost smiling.

"Why, yes, Mr. Rider," she grinned back, "I believe you may."

_And long after I've gone,_

_You'll still be humming along._

An old, gray haired woman bent down, stroking the gravestone. She placed yellow roses, the ones that had decorated their wedding, at the base of the gray marble.

Her now long dead husband had found the colour ironic. She swallowed through her tears at her first, last, and only true love's gravestone. "I miss you, Alex," she whispered, "and I always will."

_Yeah, sway to the rhythm of love. _

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><p><strong>My second songfic ever! Anyway, I feel like I twisted the song a bit, but oh, well, what are you gonna do? Please review!<strong>


	4. Thriller

**Disclaimer - Sadly, Halloween does not include getting Alex Rider.**

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><p><em>It's close to midnight and something evil's lurking in the dark<em>

_Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart_

Alex crept through the silent cemetery. It was dark, but the stars gave just enough light to see everything's basic outline. To Alex, the light just created more shadows to appear, more imaginary monsters to jump out.

Eerily, he heard an odd sound in the usually silent graveyard. He glanced around a gravestone and dropped into a crouch behind it.

_You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it_

_You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes_

_You're paralyzed_

It moved on all fours, like an ape, but this was no mere animal. Its shape was vaguely human, only grotesquely malformed.

Its lips, eyelids… almost all of the skin on its face was gone, leaving a wet, red mass in its place and a dark hole, studded with the occasional glimmer of a rotting tooth, for its mouth. The only colour it seemed to contain were its eyes, cat-yellow with slitted pupils, similar to a snake's. The colour was truly beautiful, but also the single most terrifying thing he'd ever seen.

Except for what it was doing.

Those noises he'd been hearing had been its victim's blood hitting a gravestone as he or she was ripped apart and eaten raw. Alex could just make out, thanks to the unusually illuminating stars, their individual intestines, shredded as they were. It froze and looked up.

Right at him.

_No one's gonna save you from the beast about strike_

_You're fighting for your life_

Alex tore through the surrounding forest, the thing right behind him.

It snarled and growled viscously, blood gurgling in its throat. Its feet pounded in a steady rhythm, stark in contrast to Alex, who zigged and zagged, leaping and dodging and praying to a god he didn't believe in that he was more agile than it was.

He knew that up ahead was the main office building for the _[abandoned]_ graveyard.

It was permanently closed, gate and doors securely shut, but hopefully not locked.

_You hear the door slam and realize there's nowhere left to run_

_You feel the cold hand and wonder if you'll ever see the sun_

_You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination_

Alex was upstairs, hidden in a shelf at the top of the closet.

It was several meters off the wooden floor of the slowly rotting mansion, and hopefully out of the creatures reach.

_[What __**is**__ that thing?]_

It wasn't stealthy. He clearly heard it breathing, its footsteps, and blood dripping on the floor.

Whose it was he knew he'd _never_ want to know.

Alex felt fear's familiar grip on his body. Adrenalin flooded him, and his muscles bunched in preparation to fight, or fly.

Or die.

Abstractly, he wondered if he'll ever get to see light again, feel the sun. Such a small thing, but so _so_ big at the same time. He'd give anything for it.

Alex closed his eyes, trying to fight the thoughts away. There hadn't been time before, but now it crossed his mind that this might be a dream. It was dismissed almost immediately. Everything was just too real, right down to the smell of mold and decay in the tiny, cramped closet.

Which had no escape.

_But all the while you hear the creature creeping up behind_

_You're out of time_

The gurgling was closer than ever.

The creaking floorboards gave their profound protest as the monster thudded slowly closer. Its harsh breathing was right outside.

Suddenly, it stopped.

All of the noise it made, the terrifying sounds that marked its inevitable approach, had disappeared.

The silence was _far_ more terrifying.

At least, with the noise, you knew where it was.

The door shook with a bone rattling thud. Splinters and dust flew into the thick, disgusting air. Sharp cracks and groaning creaks filled Alex's ears.

It was breaking down the door.

_It's out to get you_

_The foulest stench is in the air_

_It's closing in to seal your doom_

Through the gaps in the once sealed door, the coppery reek of blood flooded the air.

Alex had either been too far away or too busy moving _[running, sprinting for his life]_ to notice it before.

It made sense, he supposed, unnervingly calm, even to himself, since half its face was gone and was probably coated in its victims blood and insides.

With a resounding crunch, the door finally collapsed in on itself, bringing Alex and the thing eye to eye.

With a resounding scream, it lunged.

_And though you fight to stay alive_

_This is the end of your life_

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><p><strong>Well, I'm happy with this one, though I keep getting ideas for songfics ONLY, so I can't promise anything but for awhile. And, to settle a debate with my friend, is colour spelled with a u, or without one? I'm pretty sure my kindergarden teacher wasn't American, since I keep getting told that as long as I'm in America, it's color.<strong>

**Thanks to_ Mazken_ and _hollyblue2_ for reveiwing!**


	5. Strawberry Wine

**Disclaimer- Not mine.**

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><p><em>I was caught somewhere between a woman and a child <em>

_When one restless summer we found love growing wild _

_On the banks of the river on a well beaten path _

_Funny how those memories they last _

Sabina stared at the light pink liquid, swirling it around the cheap, gritty glass.

The yellow lights above her flickered for the umpteenth time that night. She had no idea why it was now of all the times she has had that she chooses to reminisce, but she was.

The bottle to her left was almost empty, and all she could think about was blonde hair, brown eyes, and the night they shared their first real kiss.

_Like strawberry wine and seventeen _

_The hot July moon saw everything _

_My first taste of love oh bittersweet _

_Green on the vine _

_Like strawberry wine _

She could remember it perfectly, and had thought that she loved him.

Hell, she still did.

Despite all her talk of older men and past relationships, she had never kissed anyone, period. She had always thought it special, not just a show of affection, but the promise of it.

She had yet to break it.

_My biggest fear was September when he had to go _

_A few cards and letters and one long distance call _

_We drifted away like the leaves in the fall _

_But year after year I come back to this place _

_Just to remember the taste _

She tipped her head back, swallowing the sour liquid.

She remembered his missions, but she had never felt any fear over them. Damien Cray had to be the worst she thought, and he had gone looking for him in the first place. Surely nobody would ever _purposely_ send a fourteen year old into a situation _anything_ like that.

No, she had only felt fear at the dead look at his eyes when he lived with her – _their_ – family. At that point, she had known, somehow, that it was over. She tried, of course, but even after years of therapy and support, he never changed, never healed.

With a sigh, she noticed that her glass was empty. She went to refill it, but the bottle was empty.

_The fields have grown over now _

_Years since they've seen a plow _

_There's nothing time hasn't touched _

_Is it really him or the loss of my innocence _

_I've been missing so much _

Sabina closed her eyes and felt a faint pang at the loss. She got up, leaving everything on the table.

It was time to go to bed.

_Like strawberry wine _

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><p><strong>Apparently I'm in a songfic phase now. Anyway, I'm not quite sure about this chapter, it seemed choppy. I might update with another soon. Please review!<strong>

**_Mazken_- You were my only reviewer last chapter, and I thank you for it! I tried to follow your advice; do you think I did okay?**


	6. Dinner

**Disclaimer- Not mine.**

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><p><em>The two of them sat in the warm glow of candlelight, sipping dark red wine, the colour of blood.<em>

Suddenly, she felt the need to ask: "What do you think happens? After, I mean."

"Cryptic has never fit you, Sab." He said absently.

"I think it has."

_The small restraint was located deep in London. With no electric lights, the shadows cast by fire danced. _

There was a masculine sigh. "Okay, I'll bite. After what?"

"After…. this. After life."

_Both were dressed elegantly, Sabina in a pale blue dress the colour of her eyes, her hair pulled back, small ringlets falling into her face, and Alex, in a simple tux, as handsome as his new wife was beautiful._

"Morbid, much?" He snorted sarcastically.

"Don't screw with me, Alex!" She hissed, annoyed. "With your job, I know you must have thought about it at _least_ once."

"Okay, okay, I surrender and admit it, I have."

_They had just gotten back from their honeymoon. Looking at them, an outsider would have thought that they had been married for years, rather than a mere two weeks._

She raised an eyebrow. "And..."

He spread his hands. "And it doesn't matter. There are many beliefs, hells, and heavens, but all in all, I can only hope for one thing, and one thing only."

_Unknownst to them, a sniper crouched on the roof of a building across from them, hidden in the shadows. She lined up her shot…._

"What?" She asked.

He looked her in the eye.

"That I'll never find out."

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><p><strong>Okay, I feel unloved. For the past two chapters, I only got one review each! Am I really that bad?<strong>

**Anyway, I messed around with this one, so drop me a comment, even if it's about how I disgrace my family with my horrible, horrible writing.**

**Thanks to Mazken and Evgenia for reviewing!**


	7. Insane

**Disclaimer - Not mine. It IS almost Christmas, though...**

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><p><em>Alex is hidden behind a stack of wooden crates. If he had to have taken a guess on what filled them, he would say some kind of drug or explosive.<em>

"Come out, come out, little Alex."

_He goes hot and cold in turns, seemingly at random._

"Come out to play."

_Alex wants to run, but can't. _

_The man, who really should've been more polite and given his name before trying to kill him, stalks around, giving off his location clearly._

"I'll find you eventually."

_Normally, Alex would have run, but in these circumstances, he can't even get up from where he's laid out._

There's a loud crash.

_There is a weird, sticky wetness surrounding him. When did that happen?_

Hysterical laughter, followed by a sing song, "You know you want to."

_The child-like speech suddenly strikes Alex like a blow to the chest. He has always said that the people he fought on missions were insane, but in all actuality, they were just greedy. __Greedy for revenge, for fame, for money. _

_This man, this drug lord who had killed who knows how many people, most really just children, was insane in the truest form of the word._

"I just want to play."

_Alex suddenly notices how… disconnected he feels. Is that normal?_

"Please."

_Many people, including Alex himself, he knows, equate insanity with evil, with death, with destruction. But all it really means is to be broken. To be so shattered, so impossibly traumatized, that your mind had to adapt. _

_To change. _

_To break. _

_To become completely disconnected from reality like this man, so impossibly childlike._

A sob.

_Alex feels faintly sad. _

_The man had probably started out just like most of his other enemies, careless for anybody but himself, and probably money. But maybe he saw a death, probably caused, or even ordered, by himself, that caused this. But it didn't really matter, Alex_ _supposes, as the man was this way, and nothing could ever change that._

"Just come play with me."

_Everything was oddly cold, and Alex wonders, distantly, how long it takes to die from a bullet wound to the chest._

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><p><strong>Thanks to <em>wolfergirl and Mrs. Frank Hardy <em>for reviewing!**


	8. Gotta Move

**_Disclaimer-Still not mine._**

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><p><em>Gotta move, can't move.<em>

He watched the guard stroll past, footsteps thumping like a heartbeat. When it was clear, he crept out and glanced in random rooms as he passed.

Empty, of course, but it was still worth a try. The agent he had been sent to retrieve would be heavily guarded, he knew, so he once again rechecked his pistol. He froze suddenly, listening. He dropped behind the next crate just in time.

"…. Are we, slaves? Do this, go here, oh and, hey, fetch me some drinks while you're at it."

Sounded like the troops weren't too happy.

"Tell me about it. Let's just say a kid, a _kid_, somehow managed to sneak in here. I honest to God doubt that we could catch …." They moved away.

Alex lifted himself up and retraced their steps. The encounter had told him three things: Jacob knew he was here, the minions didn't believe him, and there was an increasing number of guards, which meant an increasing chance that he would find his agent.

_There._

Guards stood at attention outside the door, the kind mostly used in bank vaults. Alex fluidly pulled out a canister and cracked it on the floor.

Rolling it, he caught his breath and held it at the same time. A thick gas sprayed from the can with a loud hiss, and all of the guards tensed, but soon slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Alex jogged forward, still holding his breath, and slipped into the room. A young woman looked up at him with dull, dark eyes. When she spoke, her voice was croaky and harsh.

"Go back," she managed. "This place is inescapable. You're on a hopeless quest."

_Oh, joy._

Alex got down low and looked her in the eyes.

Voice deceptively soft, he said:

"When raw instinct takes over," he shifted, allowing his lips to ghost her ear.

"When your breath comes in gasps and there's no controlling it," he pulled back, so that his mouth now traced her jawline.

"When you know nothing but fear, hunger, and heartbreak," he moved upwards, so he spoke onto her pale forehead.

"When you run and run but there's no escape but death," he gripped her thin, chapped hands, pulling her up, her body inches from his.

"When you simply can't go anymore," he pulled back and looked again into her pitch-black eyes.

"Then you get to tell me of hopelessness." He grinned suddenly, leaping back from the startled woman.

"Now, let's move."

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><p><strong>I feel guilty. This exact chapter has been on my computer for almost a week, but who knew regestering for high school was so hard? Anyway, the secne with the seditive can thing is from a book called <span>The Lab<span> by Jack Heath. If you havent read it, I pity you. **

**Thanks to _Mrs. Frank Hardy_ and _HollyBlue2_ for reveiwing!**


	9. Time

**Nope, still not mine. **

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><p>They say when you're scared, when your adrenalin rushes out of control, time slows down. Well, not really, but at least it seems to.<p>

They're wrong.

Oh, it would be wonderful if they weren't. Then, he might have time to think, to _help_, if they were.

But, in reality, time speeds up.

There's nothing but a blur of colour and a burst of white noise, and then you're the only one left standing, covered in both your blood and theirs, because even if your conscious mind is still slow, your unconscious, instinctual one isn't, and it moves as fast as time. Survival demands it. You never think, never know, and _never_ remember.

Alex Rider has known this since he was five years old, and his uncle registered him for karate. It simply became better known one month after his fourteenth birthday, one _week_ after his uncle died.

Then, his life became faster and faster, and all he could do was react, move, survive, but maybe, _maybe_, it was all over now.

It had been four years since he had been "recruited" by MI6, and months since his last real memory.

Now though, he saw with perfect clarity. The cool steel, the smooth barrel, the open window, all perfectly in view, all perfectly memorable.

Hopefully, they would remember this as well as he would.

Alan Blunt was found later that night, a single bullet in his head.

They never found the killer.

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><p><strong>I like this one, but a review never hurts! Really guys, I didn't get ONE review last time. <strong>

**On the other hand, two pieces of good news! One is that my basketball team went undefeated this season! (we're the Titans. Try to guess my number.) The other is that I dyed my hair from bright, never before dyed blonde to pitch black. I look weird.**

** PLEASE review!**


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